The next morning she woke up excited. Excited for a new year at Hogwarts with her friends.
She was the first one downstairs. The elves were still putting the plates on the table. Startled, one of them dropped the glass they were holding.
"I'm sorry, Master!" the elf apologised, crouching down to pick up the shards.
"It's-"
"-not alright. Do you wish to be freed? It seems you wish so since you can't even manage the easiest of tasks." her father's voice echoes through the dinning room.
"Father, morning!" she greeted, but he didn't acknowledge her presence.
"Food. Now!" he barked at the eleves, sitting down in his chair. She followed suit, sitting on the other side of the table. "Y/N..." he started, looking at her as if she were prey.
"Yes, father?" she straightened and tried sounding more confident than she actually were.
"I want you to take extra good care of your younger brother, first of all." he took a sip of his drink that appeared next to him. "Second of all... stay as far away from those Weasleys."
"Father.. the twins are my friends. I shall see them when I wish-"
"You dare defy your own father?!" he stood up, the chair he once stood on, falling to the floor. The impact could be heard clearly from the other side of the manor, where her mother and brother were.
"What is the meaning of this?" her mother ran into the room, Draco right behind her.
"Father doesn't want me to-"
"She dares defy her father! Ungrateful little brat..." he muttered the last part. "I seem to have lost my appetite." he swiftly left the room.
Y/N's eyes were fixated on the fallen chair, not believing her ears.
"Dear, what happened?" her mother's hand made contact with her right shoulder.
Y/N looked at her, then at Draco and left without saying another word.
The Weasleys were like her family; her real family, that really cared for her feelings and not their status and people's views on them.
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"George... Fred.... where the hell are you guys?" she muttered to herself. She was looking into all of the compartments.
She bumped into someone; into Aldon.
"Oh, hey, Y/N! How are you?"Aldon waved.
"She couldn't be better, now coming back to Hogwarts." Fred's head came from behind the Gryffindor.
"Fred!" she jumped into his arms. "Sorry I couldn't see you guys! My parents-"
"It's fine, little snake. We understand. No need to explain." George was shaking his head side to side.
"George." she chuckled, hugging him too. "Where are the rest?"
"Well Percy is long gone." he chuckled "And Ginny went into some random compartment with a few first years. We don't know where Harry and Ron are, though." he shrugged.
"Oh, yea. You two told me it's Ginny's first year at Hogwarts. Can't wait to see her cute little face." she beamed.
"Seems like you enjoy their company more than mine." Cedric's voice filled her ears, a head resting on her left shoulder.
A deep red blush was making its appearance on her cheeks. She turned her head and their noses were touching.
Before taking his head off the girl, he kissed her face in a loving way.
"Where's my hug?" he asked her, in a teasing way. She didn't think twice and jumped onto him; which wasn't a good idea.
They both fell down, as Cedric wasn't prepaired for her to jump on him. She closed her eyes, getting ready to feel hard surface when landing. She didn't feel anything so she opened her eyes, the sight leaving her stunned.
Cedric was under her, holding his head and moaning (A/N: Don't get any ideas, ya nasties) in pain. Having noticed the position they were in too, he helped the girl get up; obviously flustered.
"Mate, you should take care of that." Fred stated the obvious.
"Yea, no shit Sherlock." Y/N hit the back of his head.
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"This should do it." said Y/N, giving Cedric a pouch with ice she just froze.
"Thanks, love." he took it.
That nickname made her flinch slightly, surprised. George noticed and oohed. It earned him a punch in the arm and a deathly glare.
"Mate... I think I see a bump right-" teased Fred, touching a spot on his friend's head "-there."
Cedric brushed his hand off, laughing alongside the redhead.
"Please be right-" a mumble was heard outside and the door to the compartment opened. "Y/N!" Evie beamed at the sight of the fellow Slytherin.
"Evie, my love!" she got up and hugged her. "Come on in, please. Fred- scooch over." Y/N hissed at the Weasley.
"Hello, guys! How've you been?" Evie smiled, asking her friends.
"Good." shrugged Fred and his twin nodded, agreeing with him.
The girl then leaned over, getting close to Y/N. "Y/N..." she whispered "...about what you said in the last letter..." she took a quick glance at Cedric.
He noticed it. "Wait-Wha-Y/N, don't tell me you-" he looked at the Malfoy in disbelief. "You really told her?!"
"Heheh..." she chuckeled awkwardly "Maybe..maybe not..."
"Tell her what?" George joined the conversation. After a few moments, he caught on "Did you two go on a date? Are you officialy dating? HOORAYY-"
"No." the two said in union.
"Awwww." Fred sulked, having heard the news. "But really..What happened?"
For the next few minutes, Cedric and Y/N told them about their meeting, planned by the Slytherin's mother.
"Woah! You're mother's awesome." said Evie in an awed voice.
"She seems like the only one- besides you, of course- with brains in your big ol' manor." George crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.
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Darkness painted the sky sooner than anyone expected. Stars were blossoming in the darkness.
Students, ranging from year 2 to 7, were talking about the Sorting that was just about to begin. The front of the Great Hall was full with anxious 1st years, waiting to know in which of the great 4 houses they would be sorted in.
Y/N was searching for the little Weasley, Ginny. She wasn't hard to find at all, standing out in the crowd because of her vivid hair.
Professor McGonagall, placed the famous Hogwarts Sorting Hat on the stool before the newcomers. Every year, the old, patched and dirty hat sorted new students into the four Hogwarts houses.
"Ya know..." Y/N whispered, leaning closer to Draco "... many of them remind me of you last year; excited, but also afraid."
He lightly punched her in the arm "I knew I was going to be put into Slytherin. No anxiety there."
She raised an eyebrow "But to dissapoint father, you were. And still are." she pinched his right cheek.
Looking back at the front of the Hall, she saw a short, blonde boy had been called forward. Before the Hat had announced its decision, Evie tapped the fellow Slytherin girl on the shoulder.
"Is that Gilderoy Lockhart?" she asked, pointing to the man dressed in aquamarine robes at the staff table.
"Seems like it." Y/N shrugged. She then turned fully towards her friend. "Now you'll finally be able to get his autograph."
"Yes!" Evie quietly cheered, clapping her hands. She wasn't heard by anyone, as they were all cheering. Apparently, the boy had been sorted into Ravenclaw.
After him, a short, mousey-haired boy had been called and sat down.
After some time, the Sorting and the feast had finished. Y/N grew more and more worried as minutes went by with no sign of Harry or Ron. She kept glancing at the Weasley twins to see if maybe the four of them were chatting happily, but to no avail; it was just the two.
"Hey, hey, little snake." someone grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around to face them. It was Cedric. "How are you?"
They were in the entrace of the Great Hall. The feast having finished, everyone was heading back to their common rooms.
"I'm fine. Was just about to head to my room. Evie wants to be well rested; she suspects we have Defence Against the Dark Arts tomrrow."
"You sure you're okay? I took a few glances of you from time to time and each time you seemed more stressed about something. What's botherin you?" as students were flodding the entrance of the Hall, he pulled her somewhere a little quieter.
"Just a little scared; no sign of Ron or Harry anywhere." she sighed.
"Look... no need to be so stressed, or scared- or anything... I bet they already made it to Hogwarts but are too tired. They must be in bed by now. Don't you think the teachers haven't noticed HARRY POTTER is not at school?"
"I guess you're right." she shrugged "What about your head. How are you feeling?" The girl asked, reaching out to feel the part of his head which he hit.
"I'm fine. I went to the hospital wing first thing..." he took her hand "... and everything's all right now." and looking her in the eye, he kissed her hand.
She slightly widened her eyes, taken aback by his gesture. Y/N also felt blood rush to her cheeks.
"Well then... that's- uh, great." she said awkwardly.
"Now, what do we have here?" a teasing voice came from their left.
"In front of everyone, Mr Digory and Ms Malfoy? Or should I say... MS Digory?" Fred smirked.
"Come here!" Y/N started chasing the Weasley. "You had guts just moments ago. Where are they now? Face me like a man." she shouted.
George and Cedric were heard laughing hard in the background.
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The next morning, all of Y/N's worries seemed to have disappeared moments after seeing Ron and Harry sitting at the Gryffindor table.
Just as she was talking with Evie about the classes they had that day, looking at their timetables, shouting was heard coming from a certain table whose students' faces were painted in a variety of emotions: shocked, amused and scared.
"...STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU-"
"That sounds like Mrs Weasley..." though Y/N out loud.
"Yea, beacause it is." nodded Evie.
"Ha- Weasley got a Howler from his mother!" laughed Draco, but stopped as soon as he met his sister's death glare.
"Evie.. What happened?"
"Well there's a rumor going around that Harry and Ron arrived last night via a flying car- Mr Weasley's flying car, to be exact. They were scolded by Snape and were about to be expelled by him before Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore appeared."
"How do you know so much?" the Malfoy raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Remember last night when I went to the bathroom? Well I wanted to explore the castle at night. That's why it took me so long. As I was heading back, I heard shouting coming from Snape's office and then Dumbledore's voice; they seemed to have been in a heated argument."
Y/N was nodding as she was listening to her talk.
"Remind me when I need a detective to ask you first." chuckled the girl.
"...IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."
A ringing silence fell. The Howler burst into flames and curled into ashes. A few people laughed and, gradually, a babble of talk broke out again.
"We have to go, Y/N. Class is about to start." Evie stated, rapidly taking the belongings.
"Alright, alright. Let's go and get you your autograph!"
Having reached his classroom, they were left stunned. Tens of students (mostly female) were queueing up outside waiting impatiently for their first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson of the year.
"Are you kidding me!" Evie sulked. All Y/N could do was say "You'll still get it. You know he loves the attention." and pat her on the back.
No even 5 minutes pass and the door openes widely, a smiling Gilderoy Lockhart appearing into view. His fans went crazy and, as entering the room, they asked him for his autograph. Y/N sneaked into the room, not wanting to be seen and rushed to take a seat. Evie was at the back of the line so she had to wait quite some time before reuiniting.
It took him around half an hour to give autographs and talk about himself, before one of the students pointed it out. For the remainder of the class, they decided to start their Red Cap revision. Some of his facts were somewhat false and needed to be corrected by some students. He, trying to seem as if he was doing it on purpose, rewarded their houses with points for being "attentive".
"It was AWFUL!" Y/N stated, annoyed, her hands wrapped around her head tightly.
"Come on... It was- uh, it could've been worse-" Evie started, but got interrupted by Y/N's finger on her lips.
"Evie, darling, please- please don't say another word about this lesson." the Malfoy sighed. "Anyway.. what's our next lesson?"
"Eheh..." chuckled the girl awkwardly "uh...potions."
"Great. Just awesome!" celebarted Y/N in a sarcastic manner. "This day couldn't have been- AHH!"
She was suddenly picked up and placed on someone's shoulder.
"Woah, calm down, little snake!" laughed Cedric. "What's got you so mad? Do I need to beat someone up again?"
"It's- WAIT. What do you mean by beating someone up? What've you done?" she was moving around to get a better look at him, but to no avail.
"Nothing. You're halucinating, love." he set her back down on the ground and pat her head, smiling widely.
"I swear to Merlin that I'll wipe that stupid smile-!"
Over the next few days, Y/N was getting more and more annoyed with Lockhart's classes and teaching style; spending up to one hour talking about himself, even questioning other students about the different books he wrote. Not knowing the answers, Y/N got mad at the professor for taking points from Slytherin.
It was a Friday. Classes were almost finished, but also was her last DADA class of the week.
"It's just so infurating- Oh, hey, Harry! How're you?" she was about to curse the professor but stopped due to the second year being in her presence.
"Hi, Y/N! Okay, I guess." he shrugged "You?"
She didn't have enough time to asnwer, for the boy turned her, her back facing him. That's when she understood; he was avoiding Gilderoy Lockhart. She heard from George and Fred how the man was treating Harry- like something that would gain him more popularity.
The man, noticing the Slytherin, waved at her and flashed his "award-winning" smile. The girl tried to smile and wave back, but she thought she looked constipated. She couldn't smile at that man even with all her might.
"He's gone." she turned to face Harry.
"Thanks, Y/N! Owe you for that." he chuckled, smiling up at the girl.
"Well I have to go. Herbology. See ya!"